Tension
by TheGemMaster44
Summary: HIATUS Earth and Crystalia have been growing more and more hostile since "The Incident". And it's only a matter of time before they desend into war. Can Steven and the Gems stop it before it's too late?
1. Prologue

Theme Song: _Welcome to the Machine _By: Pink Floyd

TheGemMaster44 Industries presents:

_Tension_

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><p>Prologue: A Happier Age Ends<p>

_Cincinnati, Ohio,__ 4 Years Before the Gem/Human Crisis, September 10th, 2014..._

It started out as a peaceful day when the Members of the UN and the Emperor of Crystalia unveiled the portal network between the planets. The Gems and Humans have been companions ever since 2E 1435 of Crystalia, which was 124 BC of Earth.

Rose Quartz, before her death was the Crystalia ambassador to Earth before 2002 AD of Earth. As her son, Steven took her place as ambassador besides the fact he is 11 years old going on 12 and hails from Earth. Emperor Lapis Lazuli IV stepped up to the podium alongside President Obama and Queen Elizabeth II.

"Fellow Gems and Citizens of Earth," Lapis began. "it is with great honor that we open the portals between our two great worlds. There shall be 10 portals on your world and 10 on ours. Now, your President and I will test this portal to the Capitol Region of Crystalia momentarily. But we must activate it."

Lapis gave a signal to Steven and a couple of Human technicians to activate the portal. They inserted power cells into their corresponding slots and set the destination. The portal along with the ones all across the world and Crystalia activated. Lapis and Obama stared at the portal before them. They began to walk forward when Steven noticed something wrong with the power cells.

They were malfunctioning! In 10 seconds the portal would explode. "NO! STOP! IT"S UNSTABLE!" Steven shouted but it was too late, the portal collapsed and exploded killing Lapis, mortally wounding Obama, and injured many citizens and Gems.

When the smoke cleared steven looked around for the cause of the malfunction. He found one of the power cells. It turns out that particular cell was sabotaged, by the other two engineers. They were Gem haters and have lost family to Gem missions gone wrong.

There was too much confusion to tell the news. A few hours after "the Incident", as it is now referred to, Steven released the news to the media. when the Gems on Crystalia got their hands on this news report, they were furious.

The two engineers, Tom and Allen Falkwin (who were brothers) were soon arrested and charged for attempted murder, murder, terrorism, and intergalactical regicide. They were deported to Crystalia for execution. The Gems brutally murdered the brothers by way of horribly painful floggings.

The new emperor of Crystalia, Ruby VIII, came to power a week later. He was an evil man and plunged Crystalia into turmoil with an iron fist. He soon outlawed all contact with humans for he blamed all of Earth for his father's death. any Gems who sympathised with humans were executed and tortured immediately. And any humans found on Crystalia were exterminated. The UN was infuriated by _this _action.

A month passed and now Earth and Crystalia have almost ceased all diplomatic relations, and have grown hostile with each other. Gems who sympathised with humans were still welcome to Earth. Emperor Ruby VIII was appalled by this. Especially when countless Gems fled from his iron fist rule. When this happened, he was paranoid that Crystalia would become a desolate wasteland. So he closed down the Gem spaceports orbiting Crystalia and made it accessible only to military.

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><p><strong>Now what about our hero Steven? We will see more about his reaction to this new tension between Crystalia and Earth. So what do you guys think of this new story? I know, I am probably working on too many stories at once but I was bored of the feedback on my current stories and decided to make a new one because I was too lazy to update the other ones. But about the feedback, thanks for your support so far. <strong>

**Ah what am I doing? *Derp* I just keep rambling on and on. Back to the point as stated before, what do you guys think? Please leave reviews o'plenty. What do you think on Ruby VIII's rule? What about "The Incident"? How about Tom and Allen Falkwin? Or the upcoming conflict? Anyway, this story will be no longer than 10 Chapters because the crown "jewel" *XD* of this new series is the sequel: Crisis. **

**So until next time, Peace! ;-) **

**P.S: I have changed my username to the one I use on deviantART. Speaking of DA, please check out my profile page and the group I have started with other wonderful writers/artists: SpaceWonder368, TrollFace Mastah, Crystal-Gem-Goddess, and Scraps The Fool. They are wonderful writers. (Better than me because I have much to learn from my own mistakes and have less experience.) But yeah, please check out their profiles here on and DA also. **

**NOW Peace! ;-)**


	2. Chapter 1: Ruby's Project

**Alright guys, here is chapter 1, I hope you enjoy! :-)**

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><p>Chapter 1: Ruby's Project<p>

_December 20th 2014..._

A few months have passed since "The Incident" and the tolerance between the Gems and Humans have stood _very _low, like a kindling for a fire. All it needs is a spark, such as, intolerance riots, and war would break out.

Now what about our heroes, Steven, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl? Ever since Ruby VIII came to power, they have made a refuge for Non-Loyal Gems at the Temple in Beach City to protect them from Gem-Haters. As this happened, more residents and tourists came to the area. And as _this _happened, Gems who were out on the street were being slaughtered, beaten, kidnapped, or tortured by the Gem-Haters.

Secretly, the Gems at this refuge were planning to liberate Crystalia from Ruby VIII's rule. They titled their group: The Gem Brotherhood.

On Crystalia, Ruby was doing something similar. Since there ins't enough Loyal Gems on the planet to forge a stable army, he started to order workers to extract magma from the Super-Volcano Mt. Ancestor. It wasn't clear what he wanted to do with it, so the Gem Council was confused when he ordered the Magma to be processed in the foundries of the Industrial Region.

The Gem Brotherhood caught wind of Ruby's plot and were just as confused as the Gem council.

"We need to send a spy to the Industrial Region and find out what Ruby is up to." Steven said to the crowd of Gems during the meeting.

"Now hold on," Sapphire began. "nobody who does not support the Gem Empire can't just waltz into Crystalia and live to tell the tale."

"I agree," Jade said. " We need to spend some time planning on this."

"That's where you are wrong." Steven remarked. "I have been researching Super-Volcano Mt. Ancestor, and I have found that, with the correct tech, somebody can forge an entire population with the magma. I just want to be certain that this is what Ruby is up to. Though, the reason I am not entirely sure is because, the magma can also be used to forge Gem WMD's. So I need a spy on Crystalia to find out if it's one or the other."

"That's a brilliant plan," Jade agreed. "But who will take on the riskiest Gem mission since stopping a Mt. Ancestor eruption, and how will we pull this off exactly?"

"The plan," Steven began. "will go down like this:

_Stage 1_: The said spy will be transported to the Crystalia moon "Talsov" on a stealthed Gem "Shard" craft.

_Stage 2_: After hiding the Shard craft, the spy will take a warp pad to the Industrial region _after_, he/she disguises him/her self with some Crystalia casual attire.

_Stage 3_: BLEND IN! This is the most important rule until you go at least 20,000 mi from the planet.

_Stage 4_: When the spy infiltrates a foundery, they must find at least 2 clues on whatever they are forging.

_Stage 5_: Escape the planet by whatever means possible. Shooting your way out, slipping away, Space Jumping, I don't care. As long you get to _this _Temple alive and with the info.

Does it sound simple enough?" Steven asked as he finished his plan. The Brotherhood seemed to think it was a genius plan.

"Now, do we have any volunteers for the job?" Steven requested. This was the hard part, finding a willing volunteer. "Anyone? Anyone at all? Come on! You guys are The Gem Brotherhood! Is this mission any different than previous ones where you almost died?"

Now the Brotherhood was encased in guilt. They all thought about it before a voice said "I'll Go!" This voice belonged to Coral, a disgraced Crystal Gem who once left Rose Quartz to die.

" You're kidding me right?" Amethyst said with disgust. "He'll ruin the mission!"

"Everybody deserves a second chance!' Steven said. "Before we start a long and horrible argument, I officially declare Coral the spy."

There was a groan from he crowd but hey had no choice but to accept the fact that Coral the Coward was the star of this mission.

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><p><strong>Ok guys, are you ready for some spy action? what did you think of this chapter? Please leave a review with your opinion and prediction and I will try to update this every SundayMonday. And I will proably have this story at 7 chapters. **

**So unil next time, Peace! ;-)**


	3. Chapter 2: Ruby's Conspiracy Revealed

**Alright guys, here is chapter 2, and I have decided exactly how many chapters I will have. Including the Prologue and Epilogue, there will be 9 chapters. **

**Anyway, DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THE NEW EPISODE OF SU! THERE ARE BEYOND MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! SO PLEASE WATCH IT FIRST! DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!****  
><strong>

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><p>Chapter 2: Ruby's Conspiracy Revealed<p>

_January 2nd, 2018, 3 months before the Gem/Human Crisis..._

"Alright Coral, you remember the plan right?" Steven said to the insecure Gem. Coral remembered the plan all right, he had studied it over and over for four years to make it precise. It was a heavily risky mission so he had to practice, memorize, and complete tests on the mission. He knew as well as anybody else in the Brotherhood that if he screwed this up, it would mean Armageddon for them and the Earth.

"I'm ready. As ready as I'll ever be." Coral replied, trying to stay brave.

"Alright, I trust you. Oh and one more thing, If you see my old friend Lapis Lazuli, stay as far away from her as possible. She was homesick when I met her so I am certain she is a loyalist. Probably the most dangerous one of them. She tried to kill us all while trying to go home." Steven said.

Now _this _Lapis Lazuli wasn't the same one that was killed during "The Incident", she is a new Gem that was introduced not long ago. Back in the happier age.**  
><strong>

"The Shard craft is ready for launch." Steven said, patting Coral on the back. "Come on, it won't fly itself."

Steven and Coral walked to the top of the hill where the stealthed Shard craft was waiting. It was a sleek spaceship that fits one person, for this was the fighter-class Shard craft. Coral climbed into the ship. He fastened the safety restraint and closed the cockpit. He readied the dual 2.6 MM Heat Beam Repeater Cannons (2.6 MM H.B.R.C's) for an emergency.

"Alright Coral, you got this. Just get here alive and with the info." Steven said. "Oh, and one more thing, here is a suicide pill, that will dissolve you body painfully for five seconds until you are unrecognizable. This is _only _for emergencies, so do not use it unless you have no other choice."

Coral nodded his head and started the engine. The Shard began to hover. Soon it sped through the atmosphere and into the outer reaches of space. The universe was peaceful. He put the Shard on autopilot. He examined the stars. The reaches of space was serine, and he despised the thought of it being ravaged by war. He knew that thought would come true if he screwed up this mission.

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><p><em>Crystalia Moon: Talsov, 3E 1243... 2 months before the GemHuman Crisis..._

It was a month's trip to Talsov. The moon was ravaged by the Gem Empire's purge. Last year, Ruby released a merciless onslaught against his people, after Lapis's return. For her, it took 3 years to reach Crystalia, she didn't use a spacecraft. After hearing his sister's report, he was pleased, though Human Sympathisers rose up, and Ruby purged them.

Coral hid the Shard in a crater, due to no other good place to hide. The crater was an active volcano, so he didn't have much time. The volcano erupts every month so he had 5 days to collect the info from a foundry. He used his Gem to summon Crystalia casual attire. He tried to use a warp pad to get to Crystalia.

"Hold up citizen! The warp pad is closed remember? No get out of here before you talk to the captain." A guard said to Coral.

Sadly, the Empire has restricted citizens from using warp pads due to the "Refugee Escapes" of 3E 1239. He needed the Warp Pad to get to the industrial region.

So that night, he had a plan to sneak on to the Warp Pad. It was guarded 24/7 so he had to do it during guard shift changes.

The Guards cleared from the Pad and this was his chance. He made a mad dash to the Warp Pad and managed to get to the industrial region.

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><p><em>The Industrial Region...<em>

The Industrial region reeked of pollution, and grinding metal. The guards there wore gas masks, as for the workers, there was immense suffering among them. The Poverty region _actually _looked nicer than this. Off in the distance, Mt. Ancestor stood. It was as big as the Mars volcano Olympus Mons. If it ever erupted, (Like Yellowstone National Park on Earth) it would destroy the planet.

It's lava spewing force would be 3 times that of Kilauea, the pyroclastic flows would be 6 times that of Krakatoa, and the toxic ash cloud would be 10 times that of Mt. St. Helens. Coral looked around and coughed hard. There were plenty of foundries to choose from in getting the info, but he would only have time for 1.

"Hey worker!" A guard shouted to him. "What do you think you're doing? Standing around like that? Get back to work! Or I will have to get the captain!"

Coral went to foundry #32 and went to work. The guards were watching him like ravenous vultures, so he would need a fool-proof plan to get to the manager's office. Just when he thought he had a genius plan, the main door forced open and a Gem came sprinting in, shouting:

"STOP WORKING! STOP PROCESSING THAT MAGMA! STOP CONTRIBUTING TO OURS AND THE HUMAN'S DEMISE! RUBY IS EVIL! CAPTAIN LAPIS LAZULI V IS EVIL! RISE UP AGAINST THE EMPIRE! BEFORE ANOTHER PURGE! RUN WHILE YOU CAN! THEY ARE COMING! NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU VILE BEASTS! AHHH!"

The shouting Gem tried to bash down a wall to escape the guards that were coming in. With those guards was, her, none other than Lapis Lazuli herself, the captain/general of the Gem guard and Gem military. One of the guards shouted into his radio:

"We have got ourselves a C-3 Free-Thinker! I repeat! A Class 3 Free-Thinker! The captain is with us! Though you might want to send some extra back-up!"

"Copy that!" The communications operator said. A bomb-squad is on the way just incase! Command out."

The guards restrained the crazy Gem while Lapis readied her H.B.R Pistol. The crazy Gem continued to shout:

"GO AHEAD! KILL ME! WHAT WILL THAT PROVE?! YOU LOYALISTS ARE NEVER GOING TO GIVE UP! LISTEN TO MY WORDS FELLOW GEMS! RISE UP DON'T LET THESE LOYAL BA-

Lapis fired her gun. killing the crazy Gem instantly. She told command that the C-3 Free-Thinker had been permanently subdued.

Now what about Coral and his plan? In the confusion of the crazy Gem's "episode", he managed to slip away. Now he was sneaking to the manager's office. He saw inside. It wa empty. The manager was trying to calm the startled workers. He picked the lock and searched around for evidence of Ruby's plot. He found nothing and was ready to give up when he eyed a folder.

He opened it and inside it was as if he had won the lottery. Ruby was indeed using the magma for the cloning purposes. Though, there was more, he was also forging WMD's and the entire thing was entitled Project: I.A.W.F.J. Which was an acronym for-

"HEY! What the hell are _you _doing in here!?" A voice said behind Coral.

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><p><em>A few minutes later... "Run Like Hell" By: Pink Floyd plays...<em>

Coral was mad-dashing like there was no tomorrow. The voice behind him was the manager. He had the confidential folder in his hands and he was desperately searching for a warp pad. What seemed like the entire Gem Guard was chasing him, firing H.B.R's at him, trying to cut off his path, anything to kill him or subdue him.

Coral kept on running. No matter what was in his way. Although his lungs hurt like crap, and the reek of the industrial region was doing the _exact_ opposite of helping that. The guards pressed on, and were gaining on him very quick. Their gas masks aided them much more than the reek was for Coral. He almost lost the documents, twice.

_Later that night..._

Coral was still legging it as fast as he could without a breather and the guards kept up the chase. Finally, his salvation came, a Warp Pad came in sight. He used what was left of his strength to make it to the pad. Somehow, he managed to activate it and arrived on Talsov. He smashed the receiver module on the Warp Pad and continued to leg it to the crater.

_The Crater..._

Coral realised he had somehow spent 4 days on Crystalia. so he had only 2 minutes to escape Talsov before the crater erupted. He got to the Shard and fastened the safety restraints, closed the cockpits and readied the H.B.R.C's. But there was one problem. The fusion engine wouldn't start.

Gas began to leak from the crater's surface so he got out and tried banging the engine. After remembering that only made things worse he tried wiring the main wire to the secondary engine. He got back in the Shard and tried the engine again. It took 30 seconds to start but he managed to get _just _high enough to avoid the toxic gas. He activated the stealth and flew off towards Earth.

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><p><strong>Alright guys, another chapter is done. This is one of the longest chapters I have written so far. It exceeds the word count of <em>Standing Strong <em>Act 1 Chapter1, which stood at 1,190 words. This chapter stands at 1,722 words. What did you think of this chapter? What did you think of the song? I know, it was the heat of the moment and, you know. **

**Anyway, please leave a review and a prediction for this chapter. So until next time, Peace! ;-)**


	4. Chapter 3: The U N G D F

**Alright guys, have you seen the new episode? It was beyond epic! And sadly, (SPOILER ALERT!) Lapis wasn't in there. DX.**

**Anyway, here is chapter 3. See you on the other side! ;-)**

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><p>Chapter 3: The U.N.G.D.F<p>

_Earth, December 19th, 6 Days before the Gem/Human Crisis..._

Coral landed the Shard on the hill and ran off to the temple. The Brotherhood saw him land so they were expecting him. He made it to Steven's Beach house with the document.

"You actually pulled it off!" Agate exclaimed. "Maybe you're not such a coward as we thought you were."

"Yeah." Onyx said, slapping Coral on the back.

Coral handed the folder to Steven. "Here." He said. "I almost died over this thing."

"Good job Coral." Steven began. "I knew you wouldn't let us down. Now let's just take a- HEY! WHAT IS THIS!?" He exclaimed.

He showed the document to Coral. The latter felt as if he had just learned that tapeworms had invaded his brain. The paper read:

**To Do List:**

1: Go to work.

2: Manage the daily forging.

3. Pick up new spaceship parts.

4: Go home.

5: Sit in dark brooding about no love life until passing out from drinking.

He realised he had grabbed the wrong document when the manager discovered him. He then grabbed his own hair in frustration. Then he ran outside to the deck and vaulted the railing, landing with a crunch in the sand below. Coral lay there for what seemed like an hour when Steven approached him.

"Coral? Are you ok? I saw you jump over the railing. What were you thinking? Just explain why you grabbed the wrong document and i'll judge whether or not this horrible, horrible failure was entirely your fault." Steven said to the Gem who layon the sand clasping his head in searing pain.

"Guys?" Beryl said from the balcony. "We have a problem, it's on the news! You might want to come, quick!"

Steven helped Coral to his feet and they both legged it to the TV. The CNN news report was on. Here is what the broadcast said:

"Our top story this morning is on the arms parade in New York City with the founding of the U.N.G.D.F, or the United Nations Global Defense Force. In the past four years engineers have been hard at work in making new technology in case the rumors about Earth and Crystalia are true."

*Screen cuts to New York

"Here outside the UN headquarters the new militaristic advancement are being unveiled. From Mech-Armor suited infantry to Pigeon Mk 4 Dropships to T-59 "Armadillo" Tanks. And the lucky man who is in charge of such an immense force is General Ovi Richten, who crushed the ISIS terrorist group back in 2016. He stands along side the country leaders who are embers of the UN."

*Screen cuts to a reporter on the street in the crowd.

"Yes a military force this size and strong could crush the Gem Empire's petty ranks in a mater of hours. If "big bad" Ruby over in Crystalia decides to make war, he'd make the worst choice anybody could EVER make."

*Screen cuts back to station.

"Alright, and coming up next, the second anniversary of the extinction of the Ebola virus."

*TV is turned off by Steven.

"Oh no! Earth is openly arming itself? What if Ruby hears of this? We need to think of a way to stop Earth from agitating Ruby." Steven said while panicking.

"Calm down Steven!" Jade began. "We have some good news about Coral's mission. It wasn't a _complete _failure. In that folder, he found the coordinates to a secret Gem Empire foundry on Earth's moon Luna! All we have to do is investigate Luna."

"Brilliant!" Steven exclaimed. "Let's prepare for immediate departure! Garnet, does this temple have a dropship-class Shard?"


	5. Chapter 4: The Igneons

**Alright guys, here is Chapter 4. I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>Chapter 4: The Igneons<p>

_Earth moon: Luna, 4 days; 5 hours; 7 minutes; 8 seconds and counting to the Gem/Human Crisis..._

The moon was as usual, a desolate wasteland. Moon rocks were once valued at more than billions of dollars, now they are as common some bland coffee. They landed the carrier class Shard in a secure crater and set off to find the hidden foundry.

"Keep your eyes out," Steven began. "there could be patrols."

"Copy that." Agate replied.

The group trudged on through the vast ocean of rock and dust. They used frequency scanners to try to detect a radio connection. After an hour of searching they decided to take a break, despite the fact that ambush was a very great possibility.

"What are we doing just sitting around?" Pearl said. "We should be looking for that foundry!"

"I agree. But we need time to plan for what we do when we _actually _find it." Coral said. "What if Lapis Lazuli is waiting for us there?"

"It is a possibility." Agate said. "We need to plan first. But if you want to scout ahead and get killed, be my guest."

"Actually, we could use a scout." Steven said. "Pearl, you are great at observation. Go ahead and see if there is any danger ahead. If you are not back in 1 hour, I will come out there to look for you. Ok?"

"Fine Steven. I will see what's up ahead and report my findings." With that Pearl walked off into the wasteland of rocks and dust.

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><p>After 20 minutes of walking Pearl saw nothing but was about to head back when she eyed a mysterious figure. It was about 5 feet tall, it was whitish in color, like a piece of granite. And it had an artificial Gem in it's chest. It also had fiery orange eyes and a sword at it's side. Pearl couldn't tell whether it was a man or a woman. She moved in to get a better look.<p>

Suddenly a rope or something came around her neck and another one of those creatures was holding her back with the rope. Then a masked figure along with _two more _of the creatures walked up. The masked person removed the mask and it was none other than Lapis Lazuli.

"Well well, if it isn't Pearl." Lapis began. "Ruby and I had a feeling you would be here so don't bother calling for help."

To the left of them, the other Gems were being held by the creatures.

"What do you think of the Igneons? Yeah, that's what we have been forging. Along with WMD's."

"I knew it!" Steven called out, and he got hit in the face by an Igneon in return.

"What's your game Lapis?" Pearl said.

"Isn't it obvious? Earth is openly arming itself so we decided to do the same, only we were more careful about covercy. Soon, Ruby will unleash this army on Earth and we will be rid of those dreadful humans once and for all! And he knows very well about the rebellion, the so-called "Gem Brotherhood". Did you really think espionage would work so well against us? Anyway, he gave me orders to kill trespassers on sight so," Lapis pulled out her pistol. "say goodnight all of you."

She cocked her pistol and put it to Steven's head.

"Ruby knows you're leading the rebellion so, you get to join your disgraceful mother first. Say your prayers."

Steven closed his eyes and stayed calm. Lapis fired the gun. Steven fell back and disappeared. Leaving his Gem.

"STEVEN!" Pearl yelled out.

"Quiet you, he's retreated into his Gem. You know, I'm feeling generous today. I think I'll take him to Ruby. I'll leave you to the Igneons."

Lapis put Steven's Gem in her satchel and walked away, as she did this she gave a motion with her hand. The Igneons drew H.B.R Rifles and prepared to execute the Gems who remained.

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><p><strong>Uh oh, this isn't good. Lapis has Steven. And the Igneons are going to execute the Gems. This is quite a serious situation here. And quite a cliffhanger. Anyway, thanks for your support, it is one of the things that kept me going, and I had fun writing this chapter. So please leave a review and prediction and I will see you guys again whenever. So until next time, Peace! ;-)<strong>

**P.S: I will release the cover for this story and art for the Igneons on DA soon so please keep an eye out for that. ;-) **


	6. Chapter 5: (To Be Worked On)

**Alright guys, I want to do the sequel to his story really bad so, in your review, please vote on whether I should do Chapter 6 and 7 or just cut to the epilogue. **

**Anyway, here is chapter 5, I hope you enjoy. Oh! Also, please forgive me for cutting out the fight scene between the Gems and the Igneons. I re-wrote it many times over, all testing bad, so I decide to cut out the fight scene.**

**So, after you cvote, I will write the chapter based on what you voted. So until next time, Peace! ;-)**

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><p>Chapter 5: ("All Come to Ruin part 1" if chapters 7 and 6 skipped, "Under New Management" if not)<p> 


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